Raghunandan Yandamuri, suspected of the brutal killings of a baby and her grandmother in King of Prussia, is taken from District Judge James Gallagher's court in Bridgeport, after his arraignment. (File photo)

(Updated at 3:39 p.m.) NORRISTOWN — One after another, the charges were read against an Upper Merion man who allegedly killed a 10-month-old girl and her grandmother, and one after another the defendant’s lawyer his client was not guilty.

The formal arraignment of Raghunandan Yandamuri was held before Judge Steven T. O’Neill in Montgomery County Court Friday morning, marking one of the most high-profile death penalty cases ever tried in recent history.

A petite, soft-spoken man, Yandamuri, 27, was brought into court in an orange prison jumpsuit with his hands and feet shackled. He is accused of killing young Saavni Venna and her grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, during a botched kidnapping for ransom on Oct. 22, 2012, at the Marquis Apartments in King of Prussia.

O’Neill asked Yandamuri if he understood that the commonwealth is seeking “the most serious punishment in our crimes code,” in “a case of this magnitude.”

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In total, Yandamuri pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, robbery and abuse of a corpse.

First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele filed two notices seeking the death penalty, one for each victim.

“We’ve found there are a number of aggravating circumstances which the Legislature has indicated will allow us to move forward with the death penalty,” said Steele. “We turned over a substantial amount (of evidence). This was an intensive investigation.”

When police converged on the Marquis Apartments that day in October, it was about 1:15 p.m. when they found Satyavathi Venna lying in a pool of her own blood, her neck sliced open. Satyavathi Venna had been baby-sitting her granddaughter when Yandamuri allegedly arrived at the apartment with a kitchen knife and 10 copies of a garbled ransom note.

Prosecutors say Yandamuri was desperate for money to repay a litany of gambling debts.

Ten-month-old Saavni Venna was missing when police arrived. State police issued an Amber Alert that lasted a week before the little girl was found in the basement of the Marquis apartment complex. Police found her lifeless body under a bench in an unused men’s locker room attached to the gymnasium. A handkerchief had been stuffed in her mouth.

At his preliminary hearing in November, a 23-minute confession tape was played in court wherein Yandamuri admits, “I know this is not a small mistake. I had a good job, a good life. I really feel sorry for what I did.”

Defense attorney Steven G. Heckman said his client had been getting “some gentle ribbing” from fellow inmates in prison due to the case receiving a lot of coverage in the press.

“Sometimes the publicity of these cases brings him more in their line of attention, but otherwise, not a problem. This has been a lot for him to process. He’s dealing with a lot of critical issues, but he’s been fairly stable,” said Heckman.

NORRISTOWN — One after another, the charges were read by the prosecutor against an Upper Merion man who allegedly killed a 10-month old-girl and her grandmother, and one after another, the defendant’s attorney said he was not guilty.

The formal arraignment of Raghunandan Yandamuri began before Judge Steven T. O’Neill in Montgomery County Court Friday morning.

A petite, soft-spoken man, Yandamuri was brought into court in an orange prison jumpsuit with his hands and feet shackled. He is accused of killing young Saavni Venna and her grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, during a botched kidnapping for ransom on Oct. 22, 2012, at the Marquis Apartments in King of Prussia.